Part 6 – All Is Not Well In Paradise

Steven Caldwell wasn't happy as he joined the others in the gateroom as they tried a dial up to Capella. Everyone seemed convinced that the way to go was to march right in there and demand Sheppard back however, the Colonel had the distinct feeling that that could end in disaster. He wanted a more subtle approach; send in a special ops team to gather intel and try to make allies of the people outside the dome but the others had argued that it would take too long. Time, they reckoned that Sheppard didn't have because the mad crazed woman could be doing untold things to him or worse.

Elizabeth and Rodney stood together as the gate technician started to punch in the coordinates for PX5-776. As the last symbol engaged, everyone waited anxiously but a wormhole failed to connect.

Rodney slapped his hands against his forehead. "No, no, no! He shouted. "I was afraid of this."

"Rodney, what does it mean?" Elizabeth asked fearfully, although she already knew the answer.

"They've removed the DHD crystals," he confirmed her suspicions.

Elizabeth felt her eyes water. "Then there's nothing we can do?"

Rodney looked broken. "No."

Caldwell approached them. This could have been an opportunity for him to just right Sheppard off and aim for the job he wanted as head of military operations in Atlantis. The job he thought he would have just a day ago when the copy of Sheppard had died. However, Caldwell wasn't as bad as many thought him to be. He was a man of honor and over the last eight months or so had come to admire the younger man who was the C.O. of Atlantis. Therefore, he hoped that the idea he had would help them bring him back. "Where exactly is the planet located and can it be reached with the Daedalus?"

McKay looked sadly at the Colonel, surprised that the man would have made the suggestion. "It would be a five day trip but I don't see how that would help us much because according to Dr. Tyrell, the planet is protected by an anti Wraith system. If it stops hive ships, it will stop us."

"How do you know for sure, McKay?" Dr. Zelenka spoke up from the sidelines.

Rodney threw up his hands. "I don't, but that's what we were told. The Daedalus could be blown out of the sky, are you willing to take that risk?"

"I heard her also, Dr. McKay," Teyla put in, "but I believe it is worth at least looking. Maybe the system only works for Wraith and that awful woman would not know that we had a space ship at our disposal."

"Teyla is right," pondered Elizabeth. "So I'm authorizing you to take the Daedalus and see if there is anyway to land or beam onto the planet safely. We can't leave Colonel Sheppard in the hands of a fanatic like that. She sounds very dangerous and I know John would take the risk if it was any one of us."

Everyone nodded in agreement and they all started to plan for the campaign to come.

-SGA-

As soon as the servant closed the door to his assigned room, John turned around to see if it had a lock. No such luck! There wasn't even a keyhole. The door had a simple handle to open it, just great if he wanted to wander around but not so good at keeping the damn crazy woman out. This wasn't the guest bedroom he'd had before but rather one situated nearer to her private quarters, which meant he was in real trouble if she decided to pay him a visit.

After giving up on the lock, Sheppard studied the room intently for surveillance equipment however, after searching everywhere, nothing turned up. He had no doubt it was here somewhere but very well hidden. Resigned, he fell onto the comfortable bed and considered the events of the last five of hours or so.

As promised, Tyrell had showed him much of the main dome and she'd introduced him to many of the other occupants. Some of them had seemed darn right hostile towards him, especially a man called Alexei Aldrich. The hate-filled man had literally thrown daggers with his crazy eyes. Tyrell hadn't said so in so many words but John had the impression that the man was one of her original team making him a copy just like her. In other words, he'd been stuck in this environment for hundreds of years. Meaning in all that time, Aldrich had never again seen the sun, the stars, or the deep blue sky. He'd never breathed in normal air, full of the smells of life, and little things like going for a walk in the woods or shopping in a mall or taking a skateboard to the park.

Suddenly, John felt homesick for America, which was crazy because he really didn't miss that life. No, John thought, it was better to have a normal life span than years like that, no wonder the guy seemed nuts.

Deciding it was best to play along for the time being, Sheppard had been on his best behavior gathering intel as much as he could during the tour. Tyrell was right when she had said that the dome was self-contained, but it seemed that security forces really did make regular patrols of the city ruins. Maybe, he could utilize that fact and make a run for it that way.

Going without food wasn't an option, as he had to stay fit and healthy. Therefore, after the tour, he'd eaten a plentiful meal. Although, he'd been concerned about drugs and the like. Now, he faced getting through the night and going without sleep also wasn't an option, so he got ready for bed.

He found everything he needed neatly placed in a closet. There was plenty of clothing, although not really his choice of styles, underwear, and another pair of shoes much like the ones he'd worn for the grand tour, once again certainly not his choice. In the bathroom, he found the usual requirements, soap, shampoo, comb, toothbrush and paste, and a shaver that looked something like his grandpa may have used.

Looking in the mirror, the face that stared back at him needed a darn good shave, so he went about freshening up before bed. Using the shaver was something else. It had an open razor blade, and after lathering his face, he cautiously began to remove the stubble. The tricky bit was around the curve of his chin and even with great care, he managed to nick it and it bled like hell. Cursing, he grabbed a piece of toilet paper and held it onto the cut while he looked to see if he could find a plaster or something. No such luck, so he waited until the tiny cut eventually stopped bleeding. Maybe I'll have to grow a beard, he considered but the idea didn't appeal to him even though he'd grown one when stuck in time dilation field some months ago.

Finished with his preparations, he climbed gratefully into the oversized bed. Normally, he slept in just a pair of boxers but he felt the need for a little more, so he designated a thin tunic top and pants as his nightwear.

He tried to sleep but his mind wouldn't give him the rest he required. Every noise, every creak had him listening intently as he dreaded the fact that she may come but as the hours went by his fatigue slowly drove him into a light doze.

It must have been in the early hours of the morning, when he woke with a start to find someone standing over his bed. Seconds later, a cloth pressed firmly against his nose and he tried to fight it but it must have contained something to knock him out as he felt his world spin into nothing.

-SGA-

The Daedalus was quickly prepped and ready to go in a matter of hours. There was no shortage of people, who wanted to help with the rescue mission. So along with the regular Daedalus crew were Dr. McKay, Teyla, Ronon, Dr. Beckett, Major Lorne, Lt. Cadman, Sgt. Macklin, Corporal Meyer, and ten other military volunteers mainly marines and even the reluctant Dr. Zelenka, who had stated that he owed the Colonel one.

As they left, Elizabeth looked on with hope and trepidation wishing that she could have joined them but knowing her place was here. The young Captain standing by her side felt the same but someone had to hold the fort until Sheppard and Lorne returned.

-SGA-

Sheppard woke up groggily feeling the effects of the knockout drops as his stomach rolled with nausea. He started to gag, looking around desperately for something to be sick in. Suddenly, he felt a bowl pushed into his hand and his stomach gave up what little it had. "Sorry about that." A gruff voice announced. "That damn stuff does that to most people."

John lifted his head to find a balding middle-aged man in a white doctor's coat staring down at him. They were alone in a small examining room, which contained just a couch, and the chair that John was currently sitting in. Fear spread through Sheppard's veins as he wondered what atrocities he was in for now but when the older man spoke, he seemed reassuring and rational. "I'm so sorry we had to bring you here like this but we couldn't risk making too much noise and we doubted you'd come along voluntarily. I also apologize for the early hour but we had to do it before anyone missed you."

Seeing John relax somewhat, the man sat himself down on the couch. "In a minute we will be joined by two others who wish to speak to you, although we'll have to keep the meeting short." Sheppard still felt queasy, so he simply nodded his head in understanding just as the others came into the room locking the door behind them, returning John's unease full blast.

The white-coated man quickly stood up. "Colonel Sheppard, this is security officer Jonas Tamar," he said pointing to a man in a dark uniform that John recognized from before. "The gentleman with him is accounts secretary Val Batas and I'm Dr. Steppe Ricaud. We are part of an organization dedicated to reestablishment of the old order. Our goal is to overthrow Dr. Tyrell, Aldrich and their followers, and we believe your arrival is a sign."

Oh, here we go again, John thought but maybe he would hear them out, as this really could be a way out of here, so he simply asked. "Why do you want to change things?"

"Before we answered that, can we trust you, Colonel?" The man called Tamar asked.

John didn't hesitate in answering him. "I'm being kept here against my will, so you can trust me one hundred percent."

Tamar looked satisfied. "That's good. I think you may have noticed the inequality of our society, Colonel. Well, it wasn't always like that. There was a time, before Dr. Tyrell and her henchman Aldrich fancied themselves as immortal beings, when the whole city was a thriving and highly advanced society."

"You mean having themselves copied changed all that?"

Dr. Ricaud spoke this time. "I don't think you need to be told that the copying process is flawed. I don't know what Tyrell has told you but apart from the fact the duplicate bodies have a tendency to die if exposed to a normal environment, they are completely and utterly mad after later imprinting. The first imprinting wasn't so bad, just the odd personality flaw or so, and for the first hundred years or so they were rational. Then later, well, both Tyrell and Aldrich have serious problems. To put it mildly, they're very dangerous and totally insane."

"You're getting away from the point." Tamar said. "We need to tell the Colonel about the city."

"Yes, yes, so why don't you do that?" The doctor replied with an attitude that reminded John a little of McKay and he suddenly felt terribly homesick.

Tamar's loud cough brought John back to reality. "As I was saying, Colonel, the city was a healthy, prosperous place and they had an excellent defense system against the Wraith. Then about two hundred years ago, the people became restless, they wanted what they saw as the better life within Sanjava. This was due mainly to the fact that the city had already started to decline. The services such as transportation, waste collection, etc. were no longer adequate or reliable. The crime rate went up alarmingly, many became unemployed, and the riots started. Then there was a cry for immortality just like Tyrell and Aldrich. Others wanted to live on and after that, the problems really began to escalate. There was anarchy throughout the city and in the end only the lawbreakers remained as others fled through the Ancestral Gate or tried to find a place to live on this world, but inhabitable land is scarce because of the harsher climate elsewhere."

"And during all that upheaval no one got into Sanjava?" asked John, knowing he probably wouldn't like the answer.

"Apparently, they tried and there was some talk that some actually did but we've not seen any evidence of that. Our defense forces are very good at keeping people out. However, over the last decade or so, more and more of us are becoming restless to live on the outside again. We wish to experience that which is written in the history books." Tamar looked almost desperate. "The only people to get out of here for a short time are the security patrols and most of them are loyal to Aldrich especially the Captain who picked you up."

"So you don't get out yourself?" John asked a little disappointed.

"Unfortunately, no, I am responsible for internal security and I have two higher officers over me, both of whom are loyal to Aldrich."

John wanted to know a heck of a lot more but Val Batas, who hadn't said a word to date, came forward and said nervously. "Don't you think it's best to get him back now?"

Tamar looked at his watch and agreed. "Yes, but we'll talk tomorrow at the same time, Colonel. Unfortunately, our loyal men will soon be replaced and it would be better if you're back in your room by then."

"I hope you're not going to knock me out again?"

The doctor came forward. "That won't be necessary and the next time you will know what to expect."

Fifteen minutes later, John was back in his room. He tried to sleep, but his mind was full of questions.